From the Ashes
by CercandoUnaVoce
Summary: Personal matters should stay out of the line of work, every SWAT officer knows that. That's especially true when the team have an explosive situation on their hands and one of their own ends up in trouble. Written for the Writers Anonymous Drabble Challenge.
1. 20-Davids, Respond!

-_Command to 20-Davids, respond_-

Burning air penetrated Chris' lungs, smoke filled her nostrils.

-_20-David, respond!_-

Chris coughed, she couldn't focus on any figure more than a foot away from her position. It was hot, too hot there. Suddenly, slaps hit her leg, forcing her to lay back on the ground. When they stopped, Chris turned; Deacon was there. His lips moved, but not other than a ringing could reach her ears.

She looked around her, debris everywhere, people laying on the dirt. Not any people, her team, her friends.

-_20-Davids, please, respond_\- That familiar voice came from her radio again.


	2. A Good Start is Half the Battle

The comforting scent of freshly brewed coffee welcomed Chris from the dreamland, but what made her feel at home was Ty's smiling eyes behind the steaming mug.

"Good morning." Chris adjusted her position in bed to better face her boyfriend.

Ty softly kissed her, their hands meeting on the cup.

"Where's Kira?"

"She had wedding stuff to take care of before leaving the city."

"Not fair, I'd greeted her properly," Chris protested.

"Letting you sleep was her idea, but she left something for you." Ty pointed at the bed table.

-_Love you, Warrior Princess_-

Chris' day couldn't start any better.

* * *

Street moved on his tiptoes for not waking Luca, who fell asleep on the couch after playing videogames all night. A quick shower, some cold coffee from the day before, then ten minutes to find his bike keys. And then roadworks on the main street, an accident on the highway, and last, his mother refused to see him again.

Street was already late for work when his bike threatened to abandon him at the correctional parking lot.

"C'mon!" Street insisted on the starter. The bike obeyed, but only to leave him halfway through.

_What else will go wrong after this?_

* * *

Beat you!" Bonnie touched their apartment door. Her bright smile blessed Tan's sight. "You didn't let me win, right?"

Tan grinned. "Of course not."

When Bonnie laid her lips on his their connected bodies leaned on the closed door. But unexpectedly, she detached. "Morning Mrs. Wilson."

Cute red spots marked Bonnie's cheeks while the old neighbor passed by, shaking her head.

Chuckling like teenagers, the two went in. While Bonny headed to the kitchen, Tan got distracted by his phone vibrating.

"I'm ready for the shower." Bonnie peeked, sipping hot coffee.

Tan sighed; his perfect start had just been interrupted.

* * *

Dark circles under his eyes and coffee more than blood in his veins, Deacon arrived at the HQ early. Victoria cried all night, colic. Leaving Annie to hold the fort was not painless that morning, but he needed to work out and blow off some steam before his shift started.

One hour later, Deacon emerged from the locker room, ready for the action, with the conviction the day could only get better. But an odd quiet welcomed him as he stepped in the situation room, where one by one, Hondo, Rocker, Stevens, and Commander Hicks gathered.

Something big was up.

* * *

Street sat on the edge of the road, eyes lowered on the concrete. His brain couldn't help but brood over his mother standing him up. _She must let me in sooner or-_ he winced at Tan's car stopping.

"Rough night?" his friend scoffed, rolling down the window.

"Yeah, something like that." Street rested on the seat. _More like a rough couple weeks... _he would have said instead_._

Tan stared for a moment. "Are you just leaving the bike there?"

"A friend's picking it up in a few minutes."

Tan's eyebrows raised.

"I don't wanna run late for work. Let's move."

* * *

While driving, Tan glanced at Street through the review mirror. Eyes closed and messy hair, his friend didn't look like he started the day with the right foot.

"You know, if you called Chris with her truck, you wouldn't have to leave your bike there." Tan tested the water; everyone on the team noticed something was wrong with the two of them lately.

Street shrugged. "You were nearer."

_He'd never been a good liar_, Tan thought_._

"By the way, thanks for the ride, man," Street continued, cleverly dodging the subject.

Tan grinned. "You should thank Bonnie for letting me leave."

* * *

Moving in with Ty and Kira was the best decision Chris could make, and the unconscious grin that cracked her face going to work remarked that. Once in the situation room, Luca's look cut through the tensed atmosphere, laying on her.

"What?" she whispered.

Luca shrugged, unsheathing one of his biggest smiles.

"Alright." Hondo's voice sounded right when Tan and Street joined the debrief. The contrast in her two teammates' attitude surprised Chris. Tan's eyes were smiling despite the general concern, while Street's look seemed off, but Hondo claimed her attention before she had the time to ask herself why.

* * *

"Threatening letters were delivered this morning to the major's office," Hondo explained while Deacon's attention was momentarily diverted by his phone vibrating in his pocket.

"What's different this time?" Luca asked.

"Detonation cord has been confirmed missing from a construction site, Downtown." Deacon hardly ignored the tickling in his thigh.

"We have every reason to believe this is real, guys," Hondo continued. "David squads will patrol the city to keep our people safe until we catch those responsible."

As soon as Hondo gave the 'gear up' order, Deacon stepped out of the room; the sensation something was wrong tormented him.

* * *

_Great, explosives. Exactly what I needed today,_ Street thought, mirroring in the turned off monitors while discomfort built in him.

"Gear up, we're out in five," Hondo ordered. His look was as strict as ever, but that wasn't the set of eyes that made Street feel observed during the whole debrief.

Every time he looked around, all eyes were on their boss, but inspecting the room one last time before exiting, Street caught Chris secretly peeking at him. Of course, if anyone would notice something was wrong with him, that would be _her_, even when she tried to avoid it.

* * *

Tan walked in the corridor in time to overhear the last bits of Deacon's phone call.

"What's wrong?" Tan asked while his teammates reached them, apprehension on their faces.

"Annie took Victoria to the ER."

"Go," Hondo said.

"You need all hands here..."

"You'll reach us as soon as you can." Hondo nodded, a hand placed on Deacon's shoulder.

Tan admired Deacon. His devotion to work and his dedication to his family were a goal Tan aspired towards one day. A day not so distant, maybe, so now, he couldn't help but ask himself if he would ever measure up.

* * *

An oppressive sensation at the pitch of his stomach tormented Deacon until his wife told him it was a false alarm. They could breathe, the doctor said. Victoria was perfectly fine.

Deacon kissed Annie's forehead, relief filling his heart. _Of course, she's fine_, Victoria had been a warrior since her very first day of life.

His daughter's quiet expression while asleep in Annie's warm embrace, melted Deacon's heart, making him forget all the previous worry. Only for a moment, though, because now, he needed to focus again on his other family and on the people he has sworn to protect.


	3. An Explosive Situation

Tan stared at the road ahead, silence echoing in Black Betty's cockpit. The first payload just went off in a parking lot. Multiple injured, only one victim; they were lucky.

Fiddling with his phone, Tan fought with the instinct to check on Bonnie. _She's alright; focus on the job_.

And then a sudden thought hit him. "What if the victim is not a victim?"

Perplexed looks on him, Tan turned to the back of the vehicle. "Someone that's not so expert with explosives may detonate a charge by mistake."

"Rocker's team's already on it," Hondo said, "We'll know soon enough."

* * *

As soon as 20-Davids put a foot out of their armored vehicle, Street felt all eyes on them. Perhaps patrolling the city center all geared up like that was not the safest option, but what other choice did they have?

One hour into the aimless search, Street felt that their presence started to create panic among the crowd. Fortunately, some new intel came from the HQ; they had two suspects and a couple of possible locations where to find them. 20-David was the closest team, and Street couldn't wait to get to work, just like every one of his teammates.

* * *

Chris' heart pounded while her squad reached the subjects' last known position. Among the crowd, a familiar face caught her attention, but Hondo's voice called it back.

"Tan, Chris, you take the insurance company. Luca, you're with me in the bank. Street, you patrol the outside until Deacon arrives."

Chris swallowed, her heart up to her throat while feeling Ty's look on her from a distance.

"I'll go with Tan, you go check on him," Street offered.

Hondo nodded, so Chris accepted her colleague's proposal. Even after the cold treatment she gave him lately, Street was always with her. _Always_.

* * *

Alarmed looks welcomed Tan and Street in the building.

"Have you seen these men?" Tan showed the receptionist his phone.

The woman looked attentively. "I don't know... maybe? What-"

"It's important," Tan cut her short. The latest leads from the HQ proved his intuition was correct; the subjects were not nearly explosive experts. Now even more, casting a shadow on Tan's heart was the doubt they were just clumsy, angry men or martyrs.

The receptionist swallowed. "Yes, this one had an appointment on the second floor."

Concern built up in Tan as he crossed Street's look. "Let's move," they agreed.

* * *

Ground floor cleared, Street left Tan dealing with the first as he skipped directly to the second one.

While trying to contain the employees' panic, Street's attention was caught by a man heading up the stairwell instead of following his directives.

Uncertain if it was safe to use his radio, Street went up, entering the third floor. Rifle firmly embraced, he sneaked his head in to find the level was under construction.

Beside an open window, one subject was talking on his walkie-talkie.

"Metro SWAT! Put the backpack down!" Street advised him, glancing on his own radio. "26-David to dispatch-"

* * *

"What's happening?" Ty asked, approaching Chris.

"I can' tell you," Chris said, an eye continually watching the crowd.

Ty opened his mouth, but Chris preceded him. "Please, just trust me and go home." Then she put a hand on Ty's shoulder and looked him straight. "This is my job, and I can't do it knowing you're in peril."

Their eyes matched for a long moment, and then, Ty nodded.

"Be careful," he said before directing to the bus.

Chris sighed, watching the vehicle getting away.

-_26-David to dispatch_\- her radio sounded, but before she turned back, hot air stroke her.

* * *

The shockwave made Deacon's car windows quiver. Heart up his throat, he pressed his foot on the brake.

Burning taste and people screams welcomed him as he put his nose out of the vehicle. Searching among the debris, Deacon's eyes laid on Chris' figure, her leg on fire.

Immediately, he rushed to her and extinguished the flames. "Are you alright?"

She coughed, her look wandering aimless. In the distance, Hondo was coming to himself while Luca was helping out an injured woman. Tan and Street were nowhere in sight, but the smoke was still high.

"30-David to command," he radioed.

* * *

A ringing persistently echoing in her ears and Deacon's voice briefing the Commander in the background, Chris tried to peer through the raised dust to spot her missing teammates.

Luca rushed to her, and Hondo approached right behind him, massaging his left shoulder. "You okay, guys?" His straight voice failed to hide his pain.

"They were inside," Chris said, eyes glued to the smoking entrance.

Luca looked around. "Tan! Street!"

Chris' tone became colder. "They were still inside."

"Street! Tan!" Her teammates' voices echoed while the group approached the ramshackle building.

Emerging from the fire, two men holding a third.

* * *

The smoke was so thick Tan limped in who knows what while helping some man dragging his brother out of that hell.

He winded, the air getting more comfortable to breathe as the three of them walked out of the ruins. As soon as his vision cleared, he saw his teammates rushing to him.

"You okay?" Luca asked, relieving him from the injured man's weight.

Tan nodded, his throat burning from the hot air he inhaled inside.

"Where's Street?" Chris questioned the stunned Tan.

"I thought he was already out." He frantically looked around, his voice growing acute. "He's not?"

* * *

A suffocating smell of sulfur and dirt penetrated Street's nostrils as he came to himself. The blast surprised him from the other room. Rocks and rubbles kept him squashed flat, his vest, lifesaver in multiple occasions, contributed now to the constriction weighing on his chest.

Street tried to get up. He couldn't. He looked around. The subject was lying a few feet apart. _Stunned? Dead? _Suddenly, Street's attention was caught by the guy's half-opened backpack. For some reason the second charge didn't go off.

"This is no good," Street muttered to himself, radio in hand. _Oh, useless piece of junk!_

* * *

Coffs and cries resounded in Chris' ears. Orders were clear, do not intervene before the bomb squad was there, but how could they sit on their hands when one of their own was missing?

At least Ty was safe, but Street? _He should not have been in there, I should_, Chris' heart yelled louder than the LAFD and ambulances' sirens approaching.

"Chris!" She froze as Hondo called her name, preventing her from going toward the building's entrance. "Civilians first," he reminded her in a stern tone, but meeting his eyes, she knew how all that was making him suffer too.

* * *

Smoke slowly filled the room, making the air unbreathable. Street growled in a failed attempt to get up; the concrete load on his chest was immovable.

An unexpected moan resounded, leading Street's attention to the man lying a few feet from him. Street stretched out to reach his rifle. He was out of options, if the man came to himself and decided to finish what he started, the whole building would collapse, killing innocent people, rescuers, and his teammates. He couldn't let him do that, even if it meant taking out his only chance to get out of there alive.

* * *

Deacon turned, his daughter's cry in his ears. _It's not her_, he sighed, running to a woman aimlessly wandering around, her baby in her arms.

"It's okay." Deacon put a hand on the woman's shoulder and the other on the baby's back. "Come with me."

As he left the two with a paramedic, Deacon looked at the hell around him. He couldn't be more relieved that Annie and his kids were safe at home, but his other family was there cuts and bruises on their skin.

_Could have I done something to prevent all this if I was here sooner?_

* * *

Tan gasped; dust and hot air penetrated his lungs, but he couldn't stop. _First, secure the civilians_, only then he could turn his full attention to his missing friend.

As soon as the bomb squad arrived, along with 50-Davids, the SWAT team reunited, leaving the first responders to deal with casualties.

"What are we waiting for?" Hondo asked the bomb squad Capitan. "One of my men is in there."

At those words, Tan flinched. Although, it was him that left Street in the building with no cover and no help. That weighed on his heart and made breathing even harder.

* * *

Street tightened his rifle, peering through the ash. The subject slowly raised and took the dust off his clothes, unaware of Street's presence.

"Don't even think about it." Street aimed his weapon, diverting the man's attention from the backpack.

The heart got up Street's throat as the subject's cold look laid on him. But after a rapid glance around, the man made his way out through the debris, disappearing from Street's sight before he could say another word.

Alone and trapped, sweat stained Street's uniform. That taste in the air and that increasing heat would mean only one thing: fire.


	4. All-in

"_What_?" Chris stared at the bomb squad leader, her heart pounding.

"If all the Det Cord reported missing had gone off," Lieutenant Ellis explained, "the building wouldn't be still there. And if there is an undetonated charge in there, I'm not letting _anyone_ in."

"But, there are people inside!" Luca objected.

_Not just any people_. Concern shone through the SWAT members' looks.

"You don't even know if your man is still alive." At Ellis' words, Chris' heart stopped.

"Fire department stays put, and the same goes for you. This is my final word," the man stated. But Chris couldn't obey.

* * *

A junked radio and his rifle, which with that heat risked to blow in his hands, were all the instruments that Street could reach from his position. With dust in his mouth and thick smoke in his lungs, even coughing was painful while dehydration prevented him from thinking clearly.

"Where are you guys?" Street muttered while observing the crackly fire inexorably approaching the backpack and his dreadful content.

Street's day didn't start in the best way, but he surely didn't think that it would end in _that_ way; that _everything_ would end in that way. His heart struggled to beat.

* * *

For once, Deacon was glad he was not 20-David. Hondo had the most difficult decision any leader had to face, sacrifice a family member to save the others. It was like Deacon had to chose which one of his children to save: impossible choice.

But Hondo could not do everything by himself, and when the tail of Deacon's eye caught Chris' movement toward the building, he rushed to her. "Chris! Don't act stupid."

"Deac, we can't-" she froze, something catching her attention.

A man was sneaking out of the building. A quick look at his phone and Deacon recognized him.

* * *

Commotion raising took Tan's attention from Luca's protest against the orders to Chris and Deacon arguing with some man. Every step Tan made toward his teammates, the situation became more evident to his eyes. His heart pounded, if the subject got out of there alone and in one piece, where was Street?

Rushing, Tan got there just in time to hear the man hoarsely say it was too late. _Could Street really be... No! He couldn't_.

At that point, Tan had no other choice but put his gas mask on and follow the unstoppable Chris inside the almost collapsing building.

* * *

In the blink of an eye, Chris and Tan disappeared from Deacon's sight.

"What the hell!" Ellis approached, followed by Hondo and Luca, high concern printed on their faces.

"Street doesn't have much time." Deacon laboriously swallowed, if it weren't for the thought of his wife and kids waiting for him at home, he would have followed his teammates inside.

Hope lit Luca's eyes. "He's alive?"

"Trapped inside with an undetonated charge," Deacon confirmed, glancing at the bomb squad leader.

"Everybody out of here! Now!" Ellis yelled.

Deacon's eyes met Hondo's. They needed to move, but none of them could.

* * *

Time running out, Tan cut through dense smoke and debris only guided by the sound of Chris' heavy breaths until they reached the top of the partially destroyed stairs.

"Street!" Chris muffled voice called when they reached the third floor.

Nothing but silence and smolder, and the weak light of the fire finding its way toward them.

"Street!"

Tan discerned Chris' figure ducking by a pile of plaster, and despite the impossible heat, his blood ran cold. Street was lying under there, unconscious. But it could not be too late. _It couldn't!_ Tan would never forgive himself if it were.

* * *

Street gasped, filtrated air painfully penetrating his lungs.

"Just breathe," a familiar voice suggested to him while someone held something on his face.

It took Street a moment to fully get back to himself. "Chris?" He panted through the mask.

She coughed. "Don't worry, we're here to take you out."

_We? _Street eyes unsuccessfully wandered around while the weight on his chest became lighter.

Another figure ducked by him. "I'll lift, you drag him out." Tan's muffled voice sounded.

His friends were there. Despite the critique situation, relief filled Street's heart. But then, the backpack's image popped before his eyes.

* * *

Once the last civilian was secured at a safe distance, Deacon froze. He could hear the clock ticking, or perhaps it was just his heart pounding, but in a loud burst, his world stopped.

Dust clouded the air, an unreal stillness took posses of everything while horror sized the three SWAT officers standing by.

_Were his friends... _Deacon's heart skipped a beat.

"Wait! What's that?" Luca pointed at the building entrance, three figures, slicing the smoke, trudged through the debris.

They rushed to their masked teammates. Street couldn't stand on his own, but they were alive. Deacon could breathe again.

* * *

Out of breath, Tan and Chris dragged the struggling Street down the stairs. Flames grazed their skin, the smoke became black.

With a roar, the earth trembled under their feet, but the daylight was there at their fingerprints. Tan glanced at his friends. A grimace of pain cracked Street's face, fatigue drawn on Chris', but they did it! They took him out.

When Luca approached to relive them from Street's weight, Tan stepped aside, removing his mask and trying to take deep breaths. Chris, instead, couldn't lose her grab on their friend and stubbornly guided him toward the nearest ambulance.

* * *

Chris coughed, gas mask tightened in hands, her eyes glued on the EMT checking on Street.

20-Davids finally reunited, their looks going from anxious to severe, and Hondo spoke for all. "What were you thinking?"

"I couldn't leave him there," Chris let out in a sigh. Trying to catch his breath, Tan nodded in support.

Street's convulsive coughs sounded in the background, drawing all attention to him.

Chris' heart throbbed. _Please, let him be okay_.

Deacon rested a hand on her shoulder, his fatherly look encouraging her. Blame it to the thick air surrounding them, no one dared to speak.

* * *

Tan glanced at the collapsed building. _We took a big risk_, _rushing in like that... _He shook off the though they almost lost their friend and turned to Street, the black of the ash the only color marking his white skin. _This was worth the risk_.

"We're good to go," the EMT said, loading the stretcher into the back of the ambulance. "Anyone else need a checkup?"

Tan eyes shifted to Chris. She was even paler then Street. "Go. Lending Street your mask for that long was a hazardous move."

A timid nod, and Chris disappeared behind the ambulance doors.

* * *

"Severe smoke inhalation, possibly cracked ribs..." a stranger's voice listed, enhancing Street's headache. "We need to run a few tests, but I think he'll be fine."

Relief cracking Chris' face was like water in the desert. With her holding his hand, Street couldn't bother the chest pain or the uneasy of the oxygen mask on his bruised skin, and neither exhaustion getting to him.

With the last bit of his energies, Street's eyes smiled to Chris, hoping his gratitude shone through.

He got his best friend back, and that was far more than he could ask to that cursed day.


End file.
